Device for use in opening bivalve mollusks



May 9, 1950 F. A. svEc 2,506,817

DEVICE FOR USE IN OPENING BIVALVE MOLLUSKS Filed Jan. 24', 1947INVENTOR. FRANK. 81/5 A TORA/Eyg Patented May 9, 1950 OFFICE DEVEGE FORUSE IN OPENING BIVALYE.

MOLLUSKS' FrankA. Svec, Norwa1k,, Conn.

Application. January 24, 19451,, Serial No. 723,959

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for use in opening bivalve molluskssuch as the hard or quahog clamthe Venus mcrcenaria-the succulent softclam-the Mfg a arenaria or any of the mussel family such as Mytzlusedulis or tinio Anodonta. By altering the dilmensio ns of the device ina manner that will be obvious after perusing the followingspecification, it may be readily adapted for use with any of the genusostrea commonly termed oysters.

An object of the invention is to provide a device. of the, characterdescribed that can be used by an. unskilled; operator that eliminatesbreaking shells and, often the attendant profanity.

Another object is to provide a device of the character described, thatis simple in construction andis. not easily broken when used in theaverage kitchen or elsewhere.

A. further object, is, to provide a. device of the character describedin which a. knife is. auto i all the shells so, that the bodies of theclams matically guided; to the juncture between the shells so that. whenpressure is applied to the knife, the shells, will, be. separated withot displacingv the mollusk on, the, support provided therefor- Anotherobject is to. provide a device of the 1 character described in whichvprovision is made to hold and position the, mollusk to be operated upon.in such a manner that the, operators digits are not in danger of beingdamagedby slippage of the knifewhich often occurs with present methods.

Qther objects and advantages will be apparent iron; the following.specification, wherein, by way example, preferred embodiments of theinvention are described and illustrated as applied to a device for usein openin hard. clams.v It will be understood that many changes andmodifications can be made in these devices without, however, departingfrom the invention as defined by the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawin s:

Figure l is a side elevational'view of a embodying the invention; 4

device Figure 2 is an end elevational View ofthe de- (the meats) may beused in chowder or the like.

In both the above instances, when the clams are opened by the unskilledwithout the use of the present invention, fragments of shell arecommonly left in the, meats and are highly obj'ectional to the consumersof these delicacies from the standpoint of both mastication anddigestion, to say nothing of. the social impropriety of a hostessserving broken clam shells with her hors doeuvres or potage.

The instant invention, on the other hand, enables the most unskilled toopen clams without breaking the shells and with. greater rapidity thanby hand in the usual manner.

In order to properly illustrate the present invention, which, although asimple, one, has impliedohjects. and features of importance as well asthose expressed, a brief reference will be made to present methods ofopening clams.

The clam is usually grasped in. the left hand, hinge side to the palm,and while firmly grasped, a. knife held in the. right hand is applied tothe juncture between the shells. A quick twist of the knife (thetechnique of which is known only to those skilled in the art and whichis difficult to describe) is givenand the shells are thereby separatedand the opening is accomplished.

The unskilled operator seldom employs this method without. breaking; theshells and losing the-juice and his temper, Women commonly use a hammer.

Hammer opening is usually accomplished by laying the clam on itssidealld smiting it with the hammer. 'This results in breaking one orboth shells. Usually splinters of shell drain away .With the juice andthe operators temper.

Now, referring to Figure l, the numeral H). denotes a holder made of anysuitable material or plastic. This is made of the proper size to receiveclams of various sizes. A clam of average size is indicated by thedotted line H.

The vertical portion of the holder ID has angular sides l2, 13 as shownin Figure 2, the apex formed thereon at M being substantially at thecenter of the body of the holder.

lwo slots l5, IS in line with the apex M are provided. These arevertically spaced apart and are adapted to receive the outer end of aknife shown in dotted lines at H.

In the bottom or base of the holder is provided a recess l8 extendinglongitudinally of the holder and shaped to receive the shell-hingeportion or edge of clam H to align the juncture of the shells and holdsame in position for opening.

It will now be seen that although clams of various sizes are placed onthe support in the position shown in Figure 1, that the juncture betweenthe shells into which the knife is inserted will always be aligned belowthe slots l5, l6 and in a plane with the plane of the slots andperpendicular to the apex M. The length of this apex is sufficient toaccommodate the clams of different sizes commonly met with.

To open the clam H, the holder l may be held in the left hand. The clamH is placed on the holder and held there. Or the holder is placed on anysuitable support. In either event. the point of the knife I! is placedin slot IE or l'6 (depending upon the size of the clam) and the edgethereof is placed in the aligned juncture between the shells. Pressureis exerted downward on the knife. As the knife is securely held at I5 orIE and is aligned with the shell junction, and as the clam is held sothat it does not shift, the shells are easily forced apart withoutfragmentation and without danger of cutting the operators hands.

The lower portion 19 of the holder may be rounded as shown to facilitategrasping by hand if the user prefers this method of use.

It may be pointed out that a healthy clam which has reached the spotwhere it is to be opened (and which has not been subjected to soaking infresh water or steaming) has its shells tightly closed. It has clammedup to use a colloquial expression, and the juncture between the shellsis tightly sealed. The shells are thin at this point and unless the clamand knife are held aligned in the proper relationship (as isaccomplished by this invention), the thin edges of the shells will bebroken and chips may be in the chowder.

Referring to Figures 5 and 6, an alternate form of the invention isshown. Here the holder 20 is provided with a base 2| which may beintegral therewith. The holder has the angular sides 22, 23corresponding to the sides l2, E3 of Figure 1, but in Figures 5 and 6these sides 22, 23 are separated by a slot 24 which lies at the apex ofthe sides.

A flange 25 extends rearwardly of the holder and has a screw or othermeans 26 which supports knife 21 in slot 24 so that it may movevertically therein. The end of the knife 2! may have a hole in its toreceive the shank of screw 26, or the knife may have a slot to fit aboutthe shank of the screw. Any suitable arrangement may be employed topermit the ready removal of the knife for cleaning and grinding.

The holder Figure 5 has the recess l8 as previously described and isused in the same manner as the device show in the preceding figures.

While slots I5, l6 and 24 and recess l8 are shown as within the body ofthe holder, it will be understood that these may be clips or other meanssecured to and projecting outwardly from the body of the holder in orderto guide the knife and hold the clam as described.

Thus, by the provision of a one-piece holder or the device shown inFigure 5, the inexperienced housewife may approach the job of shuckingclams without fear of cut fingers and produce the meats sans shells in arapid and inexpensive manner.

What is claimed is:

l. A device for use in conjunction with a conventional kitchen knife inopening bivalve mollusks comprising a body including a base portion andanother portion extending at substantially right angles thereto, thebase portion having a longitudinally extending recess disposedintermediate its side edges to receive a portion of the edge of amollusk to be opened, the said angularly disposed portion of the bodyhaving at least one narrow knife blade receiving slot therein in spacedrelation to and in alignment with and facing the recess in the baseportion, the end wall of the narrow slot that is remote from the recessin the base preventing displacement of a knife blade removably receivedin the said narrow slot when the blade is swung relative thereto tosplit a mollusk the edge of which is received in the recess in the base.

2. A device for use in conjunction with a conventional kitchen kife inopening bivalve mollusks comprising a body including a base portion andanother portion extending at substantially right angles thereto, thebase portion having a longitudinally extending recess disposedintermediate its side edges to receive a portion of the edge of amollusk to be opened, the said angularly disposed portion of the bodyhaving angular side wall portions defining a longitudinally extendingapex in alignment with the said recess, said angularly disposed portionalso having at least one narrow knife blade receiving slot therein aboveand in alignment with the apex so that a mollusk having a portion of itsedge in the recess in the base and another portion of its edge bearingagainst the apex will be split upon swinging movement of a knife blade,the tip of which is adapted to be removably received and retained in thesaid narrow slot.

3. A device as defined in and by claim 2 wherein the said angularlydisposed portion is provided with a plurality of narrow slots therein inspaced alignment with one another to selectively receive the tip of theknife blade to accommodate varying sized mollusks.

FRANK A. SVEC.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 34,495 Hawkins Feb. 25, 1862210,032 Heimlich Nov. 19, 1878 332,403 Leduc Dec. 15, 1885

